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“Why in the world would this make you happy?” I ask.
“Because! Your family’s here, aren’t they? They wanted to see you and you wanted to see them—”
“I would much rather be in bed with you right now.”
“And now we get to have some beers and line-dance together on a Saturday afternoon. What’s more fun than that?”
“I can think of a lot of things.”
She tilts her head, still smiling. “Don’t be a pervert this afternoon—save your filthy ideas for later. C’mon, let’s go say hi to everyone.”
My sisters and Mom are gathered over by the bar. I let out a silent sigh of relief when I see the girls sipping Cokes, while Mom’s got a Bud Light in her hand. I hope they haven’t closed their tab yet; I want to pay.
Birdie is the first to see us. Her eyebrows shoot up, and she gives us the widest smile I’ve seen on her in a long time. The fist clenching my heart loosens. I’m happy she’s happy.
Maybe she’s happy that I’m happy too. Maybe she sees what I saw this morning when I looked in the mirror as I brushed my teeth. The light in my eyes, the stupid grin that won’t quit.
“Teddy!” Birdie says, leaping off her bar stool with arms spread wide. “Hi! I’ve missed you!” She gives me a quick hug before turning to Nora and pulling her in for a hug too. “Nora! Hi to you too! Sorry, I’m a hugger. I knew there was something going on between the two of you. No one pisses our brother off that much, not even Shelby—”
“I want to hug Nora,” Shelby says, elbowing Birdie out of the way. “Teddy told us so much about you, Nora. He says you’re super cool and, like, really smart, and that we need to be on our best behavior or whatever so we don’t scare you away.”
“Shelby,” I warn.
But Nora just shoots me another warm smile as Ava pulls her in for yet another awkwardly enthusiastic embrace. “Hey! Hi! I’m Ava. I love your cowboy boots. And that bra! Where did you get it? Hot pink is so sexy—”
“Oh my God,” I say, shooting Mom a look.
She just shrugs and pulls me in for a hug. She’s got the same twinkle in her eye that my sisters do. Makes me feel like they all have some kind of inside joke about me.
Who am I kidding. They definitely do.
“Hey, sweetheart.” Mom gives me a squeeze before letting me go. She studies my face. “You’re looking good. You too, Nora.”
Nora gives my mom a hug—the woman is still smiling, she really must like this shit—and says, “It’s all that California sun we got.”
“Oh, I think it’s more than that,” Mom says. “It’s so good to see you again. When Teddy told us you’d be joining us for today’s lesson, the girls and I went nuts.”
“We really did,” Birdie explains. “We knew something was up when we FaceTimed Teddy and he kept smiling.”
“He does not smile,” Ava adds. “Not since our dad passed away.”
Oh, shit. Here we go.
“I’m so sorry,” Nora says. “How long ago was that?”
Birdie replies, “It’s been six months.”
“Just six months?” Nora frowns at me. “You haven’t mentioned it.”
I shrug. “It happened. It was awful.”
“I can only imagine. I’m sorry, Theo.”
Birdie pats me on the shoulder. “One good thing came out of it, though. We got Teddy back.”
I do not want to talk about this right now. “Y’all—”
Nora’s frown deepens. “Theo—Teddy—he moved back to Charlotte—”
“To be closer to us,” Shelby says proudly. “Mom told him he didn’t have to, but he did it anyway. Isn’t that awesome?”
“So awesome.” Nora looks at me. I can’t read her expression. I only see intensity there. A wistfulness. “I didn’t know that’s why you left New York.”
“Does it matter?” I say gruffly.
“Of course it matters.” She turns to Mom. “Your son’s a total softie when it counts, isn’t he?”
Mom looks up at me, that twinkle in her eye almost blinding. “A teddy bear in a grizzly suit, yes.”
“Speaking of grizzly suits, I’m going to make you wear one, Shelby, if you wear a skirt in the dead of winter again,” I say. “How do you not have hypothermia?”
Ava laughs. “Brixton told her she looked hot in it. She hasn’t taken it off since.”
“The guy who shits his pants? He’s still around?”
Nora’s eyes light up. “This sounds interesting.”
She’s not grossed out. She’s not embarrassed. She actually is interested in what my sisters are up to and why they’re dating dickhead guys.
I want to kiss her. So fucking bad. I want to spill my guts about how hard it’s been taking over as head of my family. How it’s also brought me closer to my mom and sisters, and how I’ve enjoyed seeing more of them even if they do drive me up the wall.
